Jeff Wilson’s $15 million Hillsborough stunner

Today Yolanda is a wee bit busy, so forgive us if we’re more brusque than usual with this story. But we wanted to quickly check out a fun property outside our normal, er, “realm”, and found one in up north in the Bay Area, specifically in the ludicrously wealthy town of Hillsborough.

For the geography-challenged, Hillsborough is a suburb of San Francisco — about 17 miles due south. Since its 1910 incorporation, Hillsborough (along with Atherton, Woodside, Burlingame and other neighboring suburbs) has long been a choice locale for wealthy San Francisco-ites who want to live somewhere a bit less hectic, a bit more family-friendly.

Yolanda chose to gab today’s house because we like it (duh) and it’s definitely unique. This ain’t no spec-house developer special. But more importantly, this place just sold for exactly $15 million, which is a lot of money. Even for swanky Hillsborough.

Jeff & Katharine Wilson

The buyers are Jeff & Katharine Wilson, a married couple in their early 40s. Our Mrs. Wilson is a therapist, and Mr. Wilson is an SF-based private equity guru and former i-banker who serves as a Senior Vice President at Vista Equity Partners, the multi-billion dollar venture capital firm co-founded by Brian Sheth and Robert F. Smith (Vista’s headquarters are in Texas, but the firm also has SF offices.)

If Mr. Sheth’s and Mr. Smith’s names sound familiar, it’s probably because Yolanda has discussed both their real estate adventures on prior occasions. But we digress.

Cool floorplan

The J-shaped mansion was custom-built in 2013 for the seller — who appears to be a family member of tech billionaire Omid Kordestani. For whatever that’s worth. The house had been on the market for the better part of a year, originally with an ask of nearly $20 million. The Wilsons got a nice discount, snagging it for the aforementioned $15,000,000.

A gated motorcourt leads to a discrete three car garage. Guests coming from the street are greeted by an exceptionally long walkway that leads past a “croquet lawn“, a bocce ball court, and two large koi ponds. Beyond all that — and a wide patio suitable for an outdoor dancefloor — is the front door, which is less ornate than all that outside drama might lead y’all to expect.

Inside, the contemporary casa keeps things minimalist with warm-ash neutral tones. Beyond the foyer is the great room and skylit kitchen — outfitted with super-fancy Miele and SubZero appliances — and behind that are formal living and dining rooms.

Unconventionally, four of the home’s five bedroom suites are located downstairs. This includes the master, which lies just aft of the great room. Upstairs is one guest/family bedroom suite, a gym and a family room (which could be converted into a home theater, Yolanda would expect). The main house has a total of 5 beds/6.5 baths in 6,415-square-feet of living space.

The backyard is HUGE. And yes, it deserves those caps. Yolanda was kinda blown away by how much space there appears to be — you’d be hard-pressed to replicate this place in jam-packed LA. The property spans 1.5 flat acres with a pool and 1.5-bath pool house (with heated floors!) just behind the main house. Beyond that (and another large lawn) are a full-size tennis court and separate sports court.

Tucked away behind the sports court — and under some giant trees of unknown species — is a guest house with a bedroom and bathroom. The place appears currently outfitted like a romper/rec room.

While this estate is certainly big, it’s also surrounded by gigantic compounds — some of which make this property look like guest quarters. A few of the Wilsons’ nearest new neighbors include bigshot real estate developer Mike Podell, Franklin Templeton CEO Greg Johnson and his sister, Franklin Resources President Jenny Johnson. (Jenny’s mega-estate is bigger than her brother’s. But not by much!)

Who is the genius who designed this place?
“What to do with all this space we have? Ok, I got it: let’s do a huge useless front court. Let’s do it particularly bleak and unattractive: half cement and half grass. Only the car park deserves to have a nice flooring. Here we want the perfect highway pavement feeling.
Now, let’s cram the rooms on the north side. Uhm, is it depressing enough? Luckily, the “view” from the rooms is the 10-meter-tall hedge at the end of the neighbor’s garden, just a few feet away. That should do the trick.
The master bedroom? Let’s give it a perfect north-bound exposure. In addition, those small, high windows, literally touching the border hedge, will help emphasize the impression of living in a bunker below the ground.
Finally, the family/media room deserves to be the only room with a good view and sun exposure. Who doesn’t love the natural light and the views outside when watching a good movie?
I’m so good! I’m the best!”